Pitching and power propel Menehune

A little of the old and a little of the new left Moanalua happy and Kailua a bit blue.

Moanalua got a stellar effort from sophomore pitcher Dae Shik Kim and home runs from seniors Jared Coloma and Jordan Monico for a 6-5 win over No. 4 Kailua yesterday.

The win on Moanalua's manicured diamond gave Na Menehune a 3-4 record in Oahu Interscholastic Association Red East play (9-12 overall).

"It's very big. It's like the start of a new season for us," said Coloma, who also threw three innings of effective relief.

Kim, a 6-foot-2 side-armer, allowed two earned runs in four innings. His repertoire of screwballs and curveballs worked well against one of the top hitting attacks in the league.

Kailua dropped to 5-2 in league play (17-6 overall), losing a one-run game for the second time in a week. In their first meeting three weeks ago at Kailua, the Surfriders won 8-3.

"I told them we had to jump on these guys early," Moanalua coach Scott Yamada said. "We scouted them last week against Kaiser. They're spooky. One or two runs are nothing to them, but our pitching gave us a chance. Pitching kept us in the game."

In each of their three league losses, Na Menehune pitching collapsed in the fifth inning. This time, they had just enough of a cushion.

Moanalua took a 2-0 lead in the first after Monico led off with a walk and Coloma took a swing at the first pitch by Kailua starter Kale Sumner.

"I think it was supposed to be outside, but he threw it down the middle," said Coloma, a compact left-handed center fielder. "It felt like a routine pop."

Coloma's shot over the fence in right-center gave Moanalua a 2-0 lead.

In the second frame, Miles Higa singled, and Ethan Isobe followed with a bunt single. With one out, Monico smacked a towering three-run homer to left, well beyond the 308-foot sign for a 5-0 lead.

"The first pitch was a curveball. I knew he'd throw off-speed," Monico said of the second pitch, a hanging slider.

Kailua's offense was silent until the fourth inning. Keenan Tanaka's single to right brought home Sumner from second. Rob DeMarsh added a sacrifice fly to right, scoring designated hitter Scotty Talaesea to bring the Surfriders within 5-2.

With reliever Bryson Gauthe holding Moanalua's hitters at bay, Kailua chipped away again in the fifth. A two-out error by Isobe at shortstop nearly turned into a disaster. The Surfriders loaded the bases and chased Kim off the mound. Coloma walked the first batter he faced, Talaesea, and forced in Ryan Kinoshita from third base as Kailua pulled within 5-3.

However, Coloma induced a groundout by the next batter, Tanaka, to end the inning.

Moanalua added a run in the sixth on Reid Matsumoto's single to right, scoring Monico for a 6-3 lead. That run proved to be vital when Kailua rallied in the top of the seventh inning.

Kinoshita singled and Sumner doubled to the fence in right-center. Kinoshita then came home on a sacrifice fly by Talaesea, and Sumner scored on a single by Tanaka to bring the Surfriders within 6-5.